- Jan 10 Don Gillis, American composer (Symphony 5½ - A Symphony for Fun), dies at 65
- Jan 10 Zeb Turner [William Grishaw], American country-rockabilly guitarist, singer-songwriter ("Chew Tobacco Rag"; "It's A Sin"), and disc jockey, dies at 62
- Jan 14 Robert Heger, German conductor and composer, dies at 91
- Jan 15 Jack Jackson, British trumpeter, dance band bandleader, and influential BBC disc jockey, dies at 71
- Jan 18 Ivan Ivonovich Dzerzhinsky, Russian composer, dies at 68
- Jan 23 Terry Kath, American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist (Chicago - "Make Me Smile"), accidentally shoots himself in head at 31
- Jan 23 Vic Ames, American singer (Ames Brothers - "Tammy"), dies in a car accident at 52
- Jan 27 Marguerite Canal, French conductor and composer (1st woman in France to conduct an orchestra), dies at 87